The Ice Tower

The Ice Tower
French	La Tour de glace
Directed by	Lucile Hadžihalilović
Written by	Lucile Hadžihalilović Geoff Cox
Produced by	Muriel Merlin[1] Ingmar Trost[1]
Starring	Marion Cotillard Clara Pacini August Diehl Gaspar Noé
Cinematography	Jonathan Ricquebourg[2]
Edited by	Nassim Gordji Tehrani
Production companies	3B Productions Arte France Cinéma Sutor Kolonko Albolina Film
Distributed by	Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
Release date	February 2025 (2025-02) (Berlinale)
Running time	118 minutes[3]
Countries	France Germany Italy
Language	French[2]
Budget	€4.9 million[4]

The Ice Tower (French: La Tour de glace) is an upcoming fantasy drama[2] film directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović from a screenplay she co-wrote with Geoff Cox. Set in the 1970s, it stars Marion Cotillard as an actress who is shooting a film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, in which she plays the title character. The cast also includes Clara Pacini, August Diehl and Gaspar Noé. The film is a co-production between France, Germany and Italy and will premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in official competition in February 2025.

Plot

In the 1970s, the enigmatic actress Cristina is shooting a film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, in which she plays the title character. At the same time, Jeanne, a runaway teenage orphan, takes refuge in the studio where the film is being shot and falls under Cristina's spell, and a mutual fascination grows between them.

Cast

• Marion Cotillard as Cristina / The Snow Queen[1]
• Clara Pacini as Jeanne[5]
• August Diehl[2]
• Gaspar Noé[2]
• Marine Gesbert as Stéphanie[6]
• Lilas-Rose Gilberti Poisot[7]
• Dounia Sichov[8]
• Raphael Reboul[9]
• Wilhelm Bonnelle[10]

Production

Development

On 20 March 2017, Cineuropa reported that Lucile Hadžihalilović was finishing the screenplay for her next film, La Reine des Neiges (The Snow Queen), which had been selected by Groupe Ouest as one of the eight projects that would benefit from a writing coaching programme in Brittany that year.[11] Hadžihalilović co-wrote the screenplay with Geoff Cox, with whom she had collaborated in Évolution (2015) and Earwig (2021).[12]

On 22 June 2023, ARTE France announced that it would co-produce the film, now titled Tour de glace (The Ice Tower), starring Marion Cotillard, who had previously worked with Hadžihalilović in her feature directorial debut, Innocence (2004),[12] and that shooting would take place in France and Germany between January and February 2024.[13] Clara Pacini (in her first feature film),[5] August Diehl,[2] Gaspar Noé,[2] Lilas-Rose Gilberti Poisot,[14] Raphael Reboul,[9] Wilhelm Bonnelle, Marine Gesbert and Dounia Sichov later joined the cast.[8] With Jonathan Ricquebourg as the director of photography, Julia Irribarria as set designer, and costumes made by Laurence Benoit.[8]

The film was co-produced by France's 3B Productions,[15] Germany's Sutor Kolonko,[1] and Italy's Albolina Film.[16]

Filming

Principal photography began in Paris on 7 January 2024,[17][18][19] and wrapped in March 2024.[18][20] Filming also took place in Yvelines between February and March 2024,[21] and in the city of Bolzano in Northern Italy, between late February and late March 2024.[22][23][24]

Release

The Ice Tower will have its world premiere at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival in official competition in February 2025.[25] The film will be released theatrically in France by Metropolitan Filmexport.[1] International sales are handled by Goodfellas.[1]

Accolades

Award / Film Festival	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Berlin International Film Festival	23 February 2025	Golden Bear	Lucile Hadžihalilović	Pending	[25]

References

1. Keslassy, Elsa (5 July 2023). "Marion Cotillard to Star as the Snow Queen in Lucile Hadzihalilovic's 'La Tour de Glace,' Goodfellas to Handle Sales". Variety. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
2. "The Ice Tower". Goodfellas. 4 June 2024. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
3. "75th International Film Festival Berlin, 13.02.–23.02.2025" (PDF). 25 January 2025. p. 6.
4. "Dossier N° EX080842 - La Tour de Glace" (PDF). Région Île-de-France (in French). 17 January 2024. pp. 21–22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
5. Antonietti, Téa. ""La Tour de Glace", le prochain film porté par Marion Cotillard, sera présenté à la Berlinale 2025". Harper's Bazaar France (in French).
6. "Marine Gesbert". Time Art (in French). Retrieved 26 January 2025.
7. "Les douze Nancéiens de 2024". La Semaine (in French). 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
8. Fabien, Lemercier (22 January 2025). "Lucile Hadzihalilovic's The Ice Tower competing in Berlin". Cineuropa.
9. "Raphael Reboul". Filmmakers.eu. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
10. "Wilhelm Bonnelle". Filmakers.eu. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
11. Lemercier, Fabien (20 March 2017). "Houda Benyamina and Lucile Hadzihalilovic for the Groupe Ouest". Cineuropa.
12. Lavallée, Eric (22 June 2023). "Snow Queen: Marion Cotillard Toplines Lucile Hadzihalilovic's "La Tour de glace"". Ioncinema. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
13. "ARTE France Cinéma s'engage sur cinq nouveaux longs métrages". Arte Magazine (in French). 22 June 2023.
14. Agence AML (13 February 2024). "Début de tournage du long-métrage « LA TOUR DE GLACE » réalisé par Lucie Hadzihalilovic avec Marion Cotillard ! Tellement heureuse pour Lilas-Rose Gilberti Poisot !". Instagram (in French). Archived from the original on 20 August 2024.
15. "The Ice Tower". Unifrance. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
16. "La Tour de glace / The Ice Tower / Der Eisturm (WT)". Crew United. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
17. "La Tour De Glace (Feature Film)". Film & Television Industry Alliance. 30 October 2023. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
18. "Casting IDF : fille de 6 à 7 ans pour un film avec Marion Cotillard". Figurants.com (in French). 14 November 2023. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
19. "Shooting Summary / January-February 2024". British Cinematographer. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024. Jonathan Ricquebourg AFC started shooting Lucile Hadzihalilovic's La tour de glace.
20. "Sélection Annuelle 2024" [Annual Selection 2024]. Le Groupe Ouest (in French). 4 April 2024. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024. Lucile Hadzihalilovic vient de terminer le tournage de « La Tour de Glace » [Lucile Hadzihalilovic has just finished filming "La Tour de Glace"]
21. "Casting Yvelines : femme et hommes, divers profils, pour un film avec Marion Cotillard". Figurants.com (in French). 3 January 2024. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
22. "Si gira a Bolzano … "The Ice Tower" di Lucile Hadzihalilovi che racconta la storia della giovane orfana Jeanne". Cinemotore (in Italian). 25 February 2024. Archived from the original on 20 August 2024. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
23. "Bolzano: in città le riprese di "The Ice Tower" film con Marion Cotillard". Alto Adige Innovazione (in Italian). 11 March 2024.
24. IDM Film Commission (26 March 2024). "Behind the scenes of the shooting of THE ICE TOWER at Gerichtsplatz/Piazza del Tribunale in Bozen/Bolzano with director Lucile Hadzihalilovic and producers Ingmar Trost from Sutor Kolonko and Matthias Keitsch from @albolina.film". Instagram.
25. Rosser, Michael (21 January 2025). "Berlin film festival unveils line-ups for Competition, new Perspectives section". Screen International.

External links

• The Ice Tower at IMDb 
• The Ice Tower at AlloCiné (in French)
• The Ice Tower at Berlinale